Kyoto University's Robo Garage has announced what may be the first bipedal robot that doesn't walk like it has a bad back. The Chroino is able to keep the leg in contact with the ground straight as it walks, instead of the awkward both-knees-bent shimmy common to brethren from Honda's Asimo to Sony's Qrio. The Chroino measures about 35 cm in height and weighs about a kilo. It apparently only cost about $28,000 to develop and would probably cost about $4,500 were it to go into production, which isn't too far out of Aibo territory. No info on whether it does anything but walk, however—it looks like the intent is to license the walking technology rather than develop it in its own right, meaning that it could be something of a catwalk model of the robot world. With its superhero good looks and the Qrio's intellect, though, we're sure they'd make a lovely couple.
(If anyone has any video of the Chroino, we'd love to hear; there doesn't seem to be any around just yet.)
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